May 3, 2016 - 8:50pm
H.E.B. GRAIN GANG BREAD
Hello! I'm a newbie here! One of my very favorite breads is baked in-store at H.E.B., a Texas grocery store chain. It's called Grain Gang bread and is a very light multigrain bread. Has anyone ever tried it, and if so, how would one go about making it in a bread machine? Most multigrain breads are really dense, but this one is not and I would really like to be able to make it at home, or at least approximate it!
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Hmmmm, that's really hard to say, considering I live in Canada! However, I would suggest from my experience that most grocery chain 'multi-grain' bread has very little whole grains in it, especially if it is soft. Try adding a bit of whole wheat and whole rye flour to your usual recipe, maybe with a bit of melted butter or oil and some milk for enrichment.
That would be a starting point for understanding. Of the 191 breads listed on HEB's web site, I didn't see any by that name.
Paul
Hi! Sorry it's taken me so long to answer! Anyway, on your web browser, if you keyword H.E.B. and Grain Gang bread, you should get some hits. As for the ingredient list, I will post this for all to read right now! Thanks so much for your comment! Captain ET
I don't know about Grain Gang bread, but one of their other multigrain breads has this ingredient list:
As you can see, it has a lot of sugar, oil and dough conditioners, all helping to make it soft. If you want to recreate something like this in a bread machine you can try adding some of the things listed in the 'multigrain blend' above, plus some oil, honey and a tiny bit of vinegar or lemon juice.
Apparently there's no added sugar in this bread. I posted the ingredient list, but here it is again!
Here is the ingredient list that is on the wrapper: Enriched wheat flour, water, grain blend (rye meal, rolled oats, wheat flakes, millet, sesame seeds, flax seeds), Base: country French (wheat sour) natural wheat flour water, salt, rye flour, wheat gluten, malted barley flour, lecithin, ascorbic acid enzymes, instant yeast (sorbitan, monostearate, ascorbic acid)
Apparently, no sugar. The nutritional info also indicates no sugar. Serving size is 2 oz., which I assume is one slice since it also says there are 10 servings. 300 grams of carbs but I'm not sure if that is per slice because the label is really hard to read.
Apparently, there's no sugar in the Grain Gang bread. See my post with the ingredient list. One thing that puzzles me is the addition of French (sour wheat) flour. I don't know what that is. Once again, I am a novice and I do mean novice baker, but I want to learn!
I've had some great comments about the Grain Gang bread made by H.E.B. grocery store chain in Texas. This bread is sold as an artisan bread and looks it. It is unformed (i.e. no bread pan used) and the top has been sliced open in three places before baking. If you keyword H.E.B. Grain Gang bread on your browser, you should come up with some hits for this bread.
Here is the ingredient list that is on the wrapper: Enriched wheat flour, water, grain blend (rye meal, rolled oats, wheat flakes, millet, sesame seeds, flax seeds), Base: country French (wheat sour) natural wheat flour water, salt, rye flour, wheat gluten, malted barley flour, lecithin, ascorbic acid enzymes, instant yeast (sorbitan, monostearate, ascorbic acid)
Apparently, no sugar. The nutritional info also indicates no sugar. Serving size is 2 oz., which I assume is one slice since it also says there are 10 servings. 300 grams of carbs but I'm not sure if that is per slice because the label is really hard to read.
Captain ET
It is my understanding that enriched wheat flour is not the same as whole wheat flour. It is regular flour that has some of the nutrients that were removed put back in. So, essentially the Grain Gang bread is flour with added vitamins and a grain/seed mix.
Yes, that's correct. For brevity, I didn't list the ingredients of the enriched flour because that list is simply the added back in nutrients. If I can ever figure out how much of what to put in the recipe for the grain gang bread, I will substitute unbleached King Arthur bread flour. But I need a starting place. What's interesting about this bread that my local grocery store chain makes is that there is no added sugar! I like that feature. Also, it's light, not dense, and so many multigrain breads are dense. I really like it and want to try my own hand at it.
How about this recipe on King Arthur Flour? Just leave out the sugar. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/harvest-grains-loaf-recipe
It's interesting that they have something called a 'base' which is that strangely-named 'wheat sour' flour, a couple other flours (probably not much, considering they are listed after the salt) and dough conditioners (lecithin, ascorbic acid). Then the multi-grain mix (meal, seeds, flakes) is apparently added to this base, along with more wheat flour and water. It sounds like they have a standard 'bread base' that they make in bulk then add different things to it to create different types of bread.
Try your basic bread machine dough and add a bit of lemon juice, lecithin (if you can find it; some bread machine manufacturers list it as an ingredient in their recipes) and replace some of the flour with a mix of seeds and flakes, and see how you like it!
Thank you for your comment! If only I could figure out how much of each ingredient to use! I am such a beginner at this! But I have a plan... First I am going to try using King Arthur Flour's Scottish Toasting Mix, adding 1/3 cup Harvest Grains Blend (From KAF also). I will add about 2 TBS of water. Second plan is to use KAF White Whole Wheat Flour, Harvest Grain Blend, Wheat Bread Improver, etc. in their recipe. Finally, Bob's Red Mill has a low carb bread mix which I could add KAF Harvest Grains Blend. What I want to end up with is a light colored light to medium density multigarain bread with low sugar. BTW, I tried the Krusteaze Country White Bread (with no added ingredients at all) and it was OK, but tasted of sugar, which I don't like. If I ever use that mix again, I will add 1/2 teaspoon salt to it. The less sugar in the bread, the better, I say! I also am a strong proponent of using unbleached flour; I think it's not so smart to have bleached flour with which you have to add in the very nutrients that were removed during the bleaching process!